User:Jherrera1021/Viby-i

The Viby-i (also called the Lidingö-i or more rarely the Gothenburg-i ) is a "dampened"  or "buzzing"   i-sound that surfaces in many Swedish dialects. The same articulatory characteristics are also found its rounded correspondant, thus called the Viby-y. In most Swedish dialects, only the long "i" and "y" sounds are pronounced with this articultion, but in certain dialects, the short variations of these sounds can also be pronounced this way.

Origin and Spread
The name originates from Viby Socken in Närke, but this phenomenon is found or has traditionally been found in many other dialects:


 * Bohuslän: southern Dalarna and on the islands of Orust and Tjörn


 * Dalsland: eastern regions south of Mellerud in Sundals and the southern part of Nordal Hundred
 * Halland: neighborhoods around Halmstad
 * Hälsingland: Ovanåkers Socken
 * Medelpad: Lidens Socken and in the Indalsälven Valley around Sundsvall
 * Närke: Viby Socken, Hardemo Socken, Kräcklinge Socken, Tångeråsa socken, Knista Socken, Askers Socken, and Mellösa socken
 * Småland: in Torsås Socken in the southernmost Kalmar County
 * Värmland: in Norra Ny Socken in north Klarälvdalen
 * Östergötland: farthest east in Vikbolandet between Bråviken and Slätbaken with the neighboring archipelago, as well as in the eastern part of Finspång Fief Hundred

Phonetic Articulation
Acoustic investigations have shown that the Viby-i is a centralized vowel, with a low second formant (F2) and a fairly high first formant (F1). Speakers use different articulatory strategies to achieve the same sound. These strategies include a low and forward position of the tongue with a high apex and the post-dorsum drawn back. The Viby-i is often described to have "buzzing" or fricative quality, which has been ascribed to the fact that the vowel is coarticulated with a voiced alveolar fricative [z]. Claes-Christian Elert transcribes this vowel as. An articulatory study of speakers in Gothenburg, Stockholm, and Uppsala showed that this is uncommon, and that, at least in these dialects, it is believed that the buzzing sound comes from a fricative glide after the vowel (, eller  ), which is common after close vowels in Central Swedish dialects. Speakers in Stockholm and surrounding areas also produce this fricativization after the j-sound [j] in certain frequently used words such as hej and okej.

In modern phonetic literature, the Viby-i is transcribed as a close central unrounded vowel. In the Swedish Dialect Alphabet, the sound is transcribed with the symbols ⟨ʅ ʯ⟩, which Bernhard Karlgren also ascribed to so-called "apical" or "fricative vowels" in Chinese phonological tradition, which resemble the Viby-i and Viby-y.

In Popular Culture
In pop culture, the Viby-i has been frequently used in comedy shows such as Hey Baberiba and SNN News in satirical imitations of the upper class and the royal family. The Viby-i from Närke is also used by the comedian Peter Flack in his roll as Hjalmar Berglund from Viby.